The Rip Tide
by Leijona
Summary: Based on the movie Life As We Know It, this story follows Nathan and Peyton as they deal with losing their best friends and having to raise a child together. Semi AU.
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own One Tree Hill or any of its characters._

_**AN: **__This story has been in the works since I first saw Life As We Know It, but it took me forever to get it together and start writing. It is a multi-chapter fic and for now my aim is to update every Tuesday, mostly as a motivation for myself to keep writing. I really hope you'll enjoy this new project. Feedback is very much appreciated :)_

_**Summary: **__When Brooke and Lucas die in a car accident, Peyton and Nathan are left to care for their goddaughter Emily Davis-Scott. Based on the movie "Life As We Know It"._

* * *

><p><em>If you get caught in a rip tide, your first instinct may be to swim against the current, back to familiar, safer grounds, but the trick is to keep calm – eventually the rip tide will lose its momentum and you'll be safe again.<em>

* * *

><p><strong>Valentine's Day 2010<strong>

"P. Sawyer!" Brooke squealed when she saw her best friend walking in. She held out her arms, "Get your skinny ass over here!"

Peyton smiled as she walked into Brooke's arms; the hug was warm and long overdue. She gave Brooke a kiss on the cheek before she let go. "Happy one-year wedding anniversary, Brooke Davis-Scott."

"Thank you, sweetie."

"And of course, happy anniversary to you too, Luke," Peyton said as she turned towards Lucas who was standing next to Brooke. She gave him a hug, "Although I can't believe you made it to your first wedding anniversary with this one."

"Whatever, Peyton. At least we have a wedding anniversary to celebrate, what with all the guys you've been chasing off since high school," Brooke shot back, "I doubt we'll ever get to celebrate _your_ first wedding anniversary." Her eyes were narrowed but her lips were curling into a smile.

Peyton laughed, "Whatever." She knew better than to take these little jabs from Brooke personal. They had been best friends for too long for them not to know when the other was only joking.

"So, what do you think?" Brooke asked as she gestured at the kitchen table, "Doesn't it look perfect?"

"It looks amazing, Brooke," Peyton agreed. "Who did you pay to make all that delicious looking food?"

"Hey," Brooke slapped Peyton's arm, pretending to be insulted, "I have a husband who is a very skilled cook, thank you very much."

Peyton looked at Lucas, "So, how much did she pay you?"

"She hasn't yet," Lucas laughed and gave Brooke a wink, "but she'll make up for that tonight."

"Oh really?" Brooke shook her head. "We'll see about that." She turned to the kitchen counter and, without asking, poured a glass of red wine for Peyton. She handed it to the blonde standing next to her. "Here you go."

"Thank you." Peyton took a sip and leaned against the counter, enjoying being with her friends again. Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the back door. She rolled her eyes and sighed, "Here we go."

"Play nice." Brooke whispered in Peyton's direction just before the door opened and Nathan stepped inside. She walked over to her brother-in-law and gave him a hug, "Hi, Nathan."

Nathan kissed her cheek, "Happy anniversary, Brooke." He let go of her and shook Lucas' hand, "Happy anniversary." He looked at Peyton and gave her a little nod, "You too, I guess."

Peyton rolled her eyes at his attitude and shook her head, "Whatever, Nathan."

"Stop it." Brooke gave Peyton a look that warned her not to take this any further, "You only see each other three times a year; on our birthdays and our wedding anniversary, is it really that hard to act like normal people and be nice to each other?"

Peyton shrugged and took another sip of her drink.

Nathan, taking the beer Lucas offered him, did the same.

"Good." Brooke looked at Lucas, who gave her a wink, "Because as of September, there will be another day you'll be 'forced'," she air-quoted the word, "to spend together."

Peyton and Nathan looked at Brooke, confused.

"Why? What's in September?" Peyton asked.

"Yeah, what _is_ in September?" Nathan looked at his brother, wondering what this could be about.

Brooke grabbed Lucas' hand and smiled, teary-eyed, "We are having a baby!"

"Oh, Brooke," Peyton said, her eyes wide in surprise. "Really?"

"Uh-huh." Brooke nodded and squealed.

"Calm down, pretty girl," Lucas put his arm around Brooke and kissed her temple. He looked at Peyton and Nathan, "You have no idea how long she has been wanting to tell you."

"I'm so happy for you!" Peyton gave Brooke a hug and put her mouth to Brooke's stomach, "Hi, little one, I'm aunt Peyton and you and I are going to rock this place."

Nathan gave his brother a hug and kissed Brooke on the cheek, "Congratulations, you two." He smirked, "'Uncle Nate', I like it."

"You're not just going to be aunt and uncle," Brooke beamed, "Lucas and I wanted to ask you if you would want to be the baby's godparents."

"You guys," Peyton looked at her two best friends and couldn't help but blink back a tear. "I would be honored to."

Nathan smiled, "I will be happy to show this kid how it's done."

* * *

><p><strong>Late Summer 2010<strong>

"Look who it is," Lucas said to his daughter as he opened the front door, "uncle Nathan."

Emily made a popping sound and clapped her hands.

"I think that means she's happy to see you," Lucas laughed. "Well, either that or she wants cake."

Nathan shook his head and took his niece from her father's hands, "Of course you like uncle Nate, don't you, Em?" He kissed the little girl's cheek, "Happy birthday, little lady. Let's get you some cake, huh?"

Lucas followed Nathan and Emily to the kitchen where Brooke was already waiting for them.

Nathan gave her a kiss on the cheek, "Happy birthday, Mom."

"Thanks, Nathan." Brooke smiled while she continued to get out the plates for the cake.

"Oh, wait," Nathan handed Emily to Brooke and pulled something out of his back pocket, "Here's your birthday present, Emily."

The little girl grabbed the envelope and waved it in the air, cooing as she did.

Brooke took the envelope and opened it. She shot a look at Nathan when she discovered what was inside, "You got her money?"

Nathan shrugged.

"She turned one, Nathan," Brooke scoffed, "What is she going to do with money? Take a trip to the mall and buy her own toys?"

"I don't know," Nathan looked down, somewhat embarrassed, "I'm not used to this stuff, okay, I didn't know what else to get her."

"A stuffed animal would have done the trick." Brooke said under her breath, but she couldn't help but smile, "But thank you, Uncle Nathan. We'll put it in her savings account."

"See," Nathan reasoned, "In the end I'm helping her pay for college."

"If that's what you want to believe, then sure." Lucas grabbed two bottles of beer from the fridge and handed one to Nathan, "Here you go."

"Thanks, man." Nathan took a sip and looked around, "So, what are we waiting for?"

"I think the question should be _who_ are we waiting for," Brooke replied, "to which the answer would be Peyton."

"Where is she anyway?" Lucas asked.

"She'll be here any minute." Brooke looked at the clock and explained, "Her flight back from Los Angeles was delayed, but she should be in the cab by now."

"I'm not surprised." Nathan commented before taking another sip of his beer.

"Nathan," Brooke said in her best mommy voice, "Be nice, will you."

"What? I know my ex-girlfriend, Brooke, and I know that even back in high school she was always running late."

"Yeah, well, I don't really think you can blame her for a delayed flight." Brooke said, feeling the need to defend her best friend.

"Brooke's right, man," Lucas agreed. "And it's Emily's birthday today, so could you at least try to be nice to Peyton?"

"Fine," Nathan sighed, "but just this once."

Right at the moment there was a knock on the door and Emily let out a small "Oooh."

"Yeah, come on, pretty girl," Brooke smiled at her daughter. "Let's see what aunt Peyton has gotten you."

"I'm sorry," Peyton said as soon as the door opened. "I'm sorry for being late and almost missing your party," she took Emily in her arms and gave her a kiss, "Happy birthday, Em, I can't believe how big you've gotten."

Brooke gave Peyton a hug, "I'm happy you made it, P. Sawyer. Come on, let's get started on the cake."

They walked to the kitchen where Brooke took Emily from Peyton and sat her down in her high chair before she went to get the cake.

Peyton sat down on one of the chairs around the kitchen table and handed Emily a carefully wrapped package, "What's that, Em? Is that a present?"

The little girl giggled and took the present from Peyton.

"Why don't we see what it is," Lucas said as he helped Emily open the present. He shook his head when he saw what was in there; "You got her an album from La Rocca?"

Nathan snorted and then scoffed at the angry look Peyton threw him.

"Peyton," Brooke moaned from the other end of the kitchen. "She turns one, what the heck is she going to do with a CD from stupid indie rock band only you know? God, what is wrong with you people?"

"What do you mean, 'you people'?" Peyton crossed her arms and looked at her best friend, ignoring the stupid indie rock band comment. She had learned and accepted a long time ago that her best friend had a very different taste in music.

"Well, you got her a CD and he," Brooke pointed at Nathan, "got her money. Where are the stuffed animals, or the toys, or the Dora the Explorer DVDs? You two are seriously the worst present-givers ever."

"I hate Dora the Explorer." Peyton muttered under her breath.

"Fine," Nathan looked at Brooke. "I'll get her a stuffed monkey next year. _And_ a freaking Dora the Explorer DVD."

"That is so not the point, Nathan," Brooke put the cake down on the table, "Instead of celebrating her first birthday with the rest of our friends and family, we decided that we should make it special for her and her godparents and have a celebration just for you. And what do you do? You two show up with money and a freaking CD!"

"Alright, alright," Peyton held up her hands, "I'm sorry, ok? But you know I'm not good with this stuff, Brooke, you could have given me a clue as to what to get her."

"I got her something useful," Nathan piped up.

"You got her money, Nathan," Peyton shot back, "That's not even a gift."

"Yeah, well, at least she can buy something nice for herself," Nathan argued. "What the hell is going to do with a La Rocca album?"

"Stop it," Lucas ordered. "Why don't you," he pointed at Nathan, "sit down, and both of you shut up and have some freaking cake."

"Yes, Dad," both Nathan and Peyton replied at the same time, making Brooke and Lucas laugh.

"Oh wait," Brooke ran back to the counter and grabbed her camera. "Let me just get a picture of you two and Emily before we ruin the cake."

Peyton and Nathan got up and stood next to their goddaughter as Brooke got her camera ready.

"Okay," Brooke looked at her daughter and couldn't help but smile when she saw Peyton and Nathan standing next to her little girl. Even though those two argued more than she had ever seen two people do, she couldn't help but feel incredibly blessed that they were Emily's godparents. She cleared her throat and blinked back a couple of tears before she held up her camera. "Smile."

* * *

><p><strong>Valentine's Day 2011<strong>

Peyton sat down in her office and looked at all the demos that had been sent to her while she was out scouting the underground clubs in New York last week. She had wanted to look at them earlier but hadn't really felt like it until now. She was just about to pour herself a glass of red wine when her phone beeped, letting her know that she had a new message. She put the bottle down and grabbed her phone from her desk. It was a message from Brooke:

"_On our way to see that play Lucas has been raving about for months, Emily's with the sitter for the first time. May have acted like one of those overly attached moms when leaving the house, crying and all."_

Peyton smiled at her best friend's words and replied:

"_You'll be fine. And so will Emily. Isn't Jenny supposed to be the best sitter in Tree Hill? Just relax and enjoy your second wedding anniversary, hon!"_

Peyton put her phone on 'silent' before she put it back on her desk, not wanting to be interrupted when she listened to the demos. She poured some wine in her glass and put the first CD into her laptop. As she turned the volume all the way up, she leaned back, closed her eyes and let the music take her away.

She was just about to put in another demo when she saw the screen of her phone lighting up, letting her know someone was calling her. For a moment she debated whether or not to answer it, but she did anyway, deciding she could use a break from all the talentless crap she had been listening to for the past hour or so. She pressed the green button and put the phone to her ear, "Hello?"

There was a male voice on the other end of the line, "Peyton Sawyer?"

"Yes, this is she."

"This is officer Tate calling, I need you to come down to the police station, ma'am."

Peyton felt her heart pounding in her chest. She sat up, "Why? What happened?"

"I can't tell you over the phone, ma'am," Officer Tate replied. "Please come to the station."

"Ok." Peyton grabbed her purse and was already heading out the door. "I'm on my way."

"I'm very sorry, ma'am." Officer Tate looked at Peyton with compassion in his eyes.

"I don't," Peyton sobbed, "I don't understand. Their car just flipped and now they're both dead?"

The officer nodded, "We don't know exactly what happened but because of the bad weather we think they might have slid off the road and,"

"What about Em?" Peyton interrupted, drying her eyes with the sleeve of her jacket.

"I'm sorry?"

"Emily, their daughter," Peyton explained. "She's at home with a sitter."

"We've already taken care of her, ma'am, she's placed with CPS for the night. She's perfectly fine."

"CPS?" Peyton echoed, not understanding what he meant.

"Child Protective Services, ma'am," Officer Tate explained, "Where they take cases like this."

"Cases like this?"

"Orphaned children." Officer Tate said.

Peyton nodded, her mind going a hundred miles an hour trying to remember if Brooke had told her whom she had appointed in case something would happen.

"If I could just ask you one more thing, ma'am?" The officer interrupted her thoughts, "We need contact information for the nearest of kin."

"Of course." Peyton got her phone out of her purse, scrolling through the names. "Victoria Davis, she's Brookes mother, but she's in New York, and Karen and Andy, Lucas' mother and her husband, but they live in New Zealand."

Officer Tate wrote down the names and numbers Peyton gave him, "Thank you."

Peyton put her phone back in her purse and looked up when she saw the door to the room they were sitting in open. Nathan was standing in the doorway, looking just as lost as she felt. She got up and looked at him, not knowing what to say. She bit her lip and shook her head, new tears forming in her eyes.

The way she shook her head told him everything he needed to know. Nathan had tried pressing the officer who had called him into telling him why he needed to come down to the station, but all the officer had said was that it had something to do with his contact details being found in Lucas' wallet. Already then he had know that whatever had happened wasn't good, but he saw Peyton sitting there, crying, he knew that it wasn't good at all. Before he knew what he was doing, he walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close.

"They're gone, Nathan," Peyton whispered into his neck. "They're gone."

"I know." Nathan placed a kiss on her forehead, not knowing what else to say; he had never been good with words, let alone in these kinds of situations. He let go of Peyton and took her hand, "Why don't we get out of here?"

Peyton nodded and thanked the officer before they walked out of the room, through the long corridor to the reception area where they excited the building. Not once did she let go of Nathan's hand.

"So what do we do now?" Nathan asked when they were outside.

"I think we should go to their house and see if we can pick up Em." Peyton said, choking back the tears once more.

Nathan nodded, although he didn't understand why they needed to pick up Emily.

"She was at home with the sitter," Peyton explained, as though she read his mind. "But Child Protective Services picked her up."

A wave of relief washed through Nathan, knowing that nothing had happened to the little girl. It was immediately followed with an immense sadness when he realized that she had just lost both her parents. He took a deep breath and tried to hold back the tears he could feel forming in his eyes. He looked at Peyton and took his keys out of his pocket, "I'll drive, ok? We'll pick up your car tomorrow."

Peyton nodded and followed Nathan to his car.

The ride to the house was silent; both of them were too caught up in their own thoughts, it wasn't until they had reached the house and got out of the car that Peyton said, "I don't know if I can do this."

Nathan nodded, feeling the same way, but knowing that they owed it to Brooke and Lucas to look after their little girl, at least for now. He looked at Peyton, "We have to do this, Peyton. For Brooke and Lucas. And for Emily."

"For Emily." Peyton quietly agreed.

Nathan opened the front door with his spare key and switched the lights on. Already the house felt empty, like it knew its owners were not coming back. Nathan took a deep breath and stepped inside, not knowing exactly if they should even be here.

Peyton walked past him to the phone in the living room, where she dialed the number officer Tate had given her earlier.

A tired voice answered, "Child Protective Services, how may I help you?"

"Yes, hello, this is Peyton Sawyer calling," Peyton cleared her throat, "I'm calling about Em, I mean Emily Davis-Scott."

"Just one second."

Peyton heard a click that told her the call was being transferred.

"Yes, hello?"

"Hello," Peyton said. "This is Peyton Sawyer, I'm calling about Emily Davis-Scott; she was taken in earlier tonight?"

"Oh yes," the woman replied, "you can call back about her case tomorrow. Good-"

"What do you mean I can call back tomorrow?" Peyton interrupted, angry at the woman's lack of feelings, "Can't we pick her up now?"

"That's not possible, ma'am, she had been put with a foster family for the night who will bring her back first thing tomorrow morning."

"Well, can't we just pick her up at the foster family?" Peyton looked at Nathan, shaking her head at the situation.

"That's not possible, ma'am," the woman repeated, "but we will call you tomorrow morning as soon as she gets here, ok? Will you be at this number?"

"Yes," Peyton sighed, "yes, I will be at this number." And with that she hung up. She sat down on the couch feeling lost and upset that there was nothing they could do for Emily. She felt Nathan sitting down beside her. "We can't see her before tomorrow, they will call when she comes in."

Nathan put his hand on hers, "I think we should probably stay here for the night, in case they call early. You can take the guest room."

Peyton nodded, "You take the master bedroom?"

"Nah," Nathan shook his head, "I'll sleep on the couch." He couldn't bear the thought of having to sleep in his brother's bed. He watched as Peyton got up and made her way to the stairs.

She turned around, "Thank you, Nathan."

Nathan nodded and kicked off his shoes before he laid his head on one of the pillows. The tears he had been holding back all evening finally made their way out as he thought about Lucas and Brooke and Emily and how their family had been ripped apart. He thought about Emily, how she would never really know her parents and he felt massive weight pressing down on his chest.

Peyton sat down on the bed she considered almost her own, having spent so many nights here whenever she drank a little too much while visiting Brooke and Lucas. As she looked around the room it hit her that they would never come back. They would never set foot in this house again. They would never see their little girl grow up. They would never grow old together and spent their life together like they had planned. This time she let the tears run down her cheeks without attempting to wipe them away.


	2. Chapter 2

_**AN:**__ Thank you so much for everyone who's left a review and who's added the story to their favorite story or story alert list :) It was good to hear you liked the first chapter._

_Now, the second chapter is a long one. I'm afraid the chapters will be like this for a while; one a little longer than the other. I'm trying to figure out how to best get the story moving along, so please bear with me on this :)_

_Thanks again for all your support, I hope you'll enjoy the next chapter. Reviews are very much appreciated._

* * *

><p>Nathan woke up to various sounds coming from the other side of the house. He grabbed his hoodie from the end of the couch and got up, putting it on as he walked to the kitchen, where he found Peyton emptying out the dishwasher. There were dark circles under her eyes and her curls were wild, even though they were held together by what must be one of Emily's pink hair bands. He sat down at the table, "Morning."<p>

"Morning," Peyton returned. She poured him a cup of coffee without asking and handed it to him. Once again it seemed like he looked what she felt like, tired and broken. She gave him a small smile.

"Thanks," Nathan took a sip. "Has anyone called yet?"

"Just their lawyer," Peyton answered, "He's coming over now."

"What does he want?"

Peyton shrugged, "I don't know, he said he wanted to talk to us." She leaned against the counter and bit her bottom lip, staring out the kitchen window at the garden.

"Did you get any sleep last night?" Nathan asked, trying to keep the conversation going.

"Not really," Peyton looked at him. "You?"

Nathan shook his head, "I couldn't stop thinking about Emily."

Peyton gave him a small smile, "I can't stop thinking about her either. I mean, it's one thing for us to lose our best friends, but at least we knew them, you know, we got to spent most of our lives with them, but she," Peyton choked on a fresh set of tears, "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Nathan got up and stood next to her, putting his arm around her shoulders. "This whole thing is fucked up and I don't know if there are any guidelines for this, but I guess we are allowed to feel like crap for a couple of days, if not weeks."

"Thanks, Nathan." Peyton leaned her head against his shoulder. "Listen, I know we haven't been friends since we broke up, but," she hesitated and looked at him.

"I know," Nathan said. He knew what she wanted to say; they should try to put the past behind them and focus on Emily.

For a moment, both of them stood in silence, thinking back to the night of their breakup.

"_Why don't you spit in my mouth next time? It would be sexier!" Peyton pushed Nathan away, disgusted by his attempt to kiss her after she had just seen him make out with Bevin, one of the other cheerleaders on the squad._

"_What is your problem?" Nathan scoffed, getting sick and tired of his girlfriend being such an uptight bitch sometimes. Didn't she understand that this was a party and he was here to have fun?_

"_You mean why won't I let you mount me in front of the entire basketball team after you've already made out with half the cheerleading squad?" Peyton was shouting now, not caring who was listening. _

"_Yeah, pretty much." Nathan replied, the arrogance clearly present in his voice._

_Peyton shook her head, "We are through."_

"_For ten minutes this time, or until tomorrow?" Nathan asked while his eyes were already scanning the room for hot cheerleaders, "I need to know how to plan my night." They had broken up so many times already that he was fine with it whatever she said. He knew they always got back together in the end._

Only this time they didn't.

Peyton had never forgiven him for what he had done that night and in return Nathan had acted like their relationship had never happened. It didn't stop Brooke and Lucas from being friends with both of them though, even after high school, so twice a year, on birthdays, they were bound to see each other. Needless to say, those birthdays were not something either of them looked forward to. And then Brooke and Lucas got married and Emily was born and ever since then they had seen more of the other than they had bargained for.

Sure, they tried to act normal for the sake of their friends, but they always ended up arguing over the smallest things. And they always ended up being put in their place by Lucas or Brooke. Or both.

The sound of the doorbell interrupted their thoughts. Peyton looked at Nathan, who shrugged and made his way to the front door. He opened the door and was met by an elderly man with gentle eyes.

"Hello, I'm Mr. Wolff." The man held out his hand, "I'm Brooke and Lucas' lawyer."

-x-x-

An hour later, Peyton felt overwhelmed by everything Mr. Wolff had told them. Her head was spinning from all the information he had given and she realized too late that they probably should have written things down.

Mr. Wolff, who was a tall, grey-haired man, looked up from his papers and cleared his throat, "I'm sure this is a very difficult time for you, obviously. Now, you must have many questions."

Peyton sat up, "Well, Emily. I think that's who we're both thinking of." She looked at Nathan who nodded in agreement. "What will happen to her now?"

"Well, I have already arranged for her transfer. The foster family she was with last night will bring her to CPS. They feel she'll adjust best in her own environment, so first she needs to be picked up and brought here."

"Okay, and who does that?" Nathan asked.

Mr. Wolff looked confused, "I'm sorry, did Brooke and Lucas talk to you about their guardianship arrangements?"

"No," Peyton and Nathan replied at the same time.

"Well," Mr. Wolff looked at his papers again, "in preparing their will, we talked about who would take care of Emily in the unlikely event that they both should die and they named you. Both of you."

"I'm sorry," Peyton shook her head. "They picked us _together_?"

"I'm sure this isn't exactly how you wanted to start a family," Mr. Wolff smiled.

"There's been a misunderstanding," Peyton interrupted him, "we are not married."

Nathan joined her, "We dated for a couple of years in high school but that did not end well."

"Not well at all," Peyton agreed.

"I know this is overwhelming," Mr. Wolff said quickly, "but there are options. You can say no. Because this is a big deal, this is a _child_. Big commitment."

"And what are those other options?" Nathan asked.

We have Brooke's mother," Mr. Wolff replied.

"Perfect," Nathan said. "She'd be perfect, I think."

"Are you serious?" Peyton threw Nathan a look of disbelief. There was no way she would let Victoria Davis, or _Bitchtoria _as Brooke and she used to call her, take care of Emily. Not for a short period and sure as hell not for the rest of Emily's life. She'd rather do it alone then. She looked at Mr. Wolff, "I'm sorry, can I stop you right there?" What if one of us, on our own, by ourselves, chose to honor Brooke and Lucas' wishes on our own?"

Nathan looked at Peyton, a little angry at what she was suggesting. He sat up, "Or both of us, hypothetically."

"Well, they named you," Mr. Wolff explained, " so I just set up a court hearing to grant you temporary custody and that's it."

"Why temporary?" Peyton asked.

"That is the law, Ms. Sawyer," Mr. Wolff smiled, "You will be visited by a caseworker of Social Services over the course of one year, to see if what you are providing is a safe environment for Emily to grow up in. I should add that these visits are unannounced."

"Right," Peyton looked at Nathan who stared blank ahead. He probably felt the same way; how on earth were they going to do this? But they had to do this, right?

"Just for arguments' sake," Nathan began. "What if we don't want to do this?"

Peyton smacked his arm, "Nathan Scott, we _are_ doing this."

Nathan turned towards Peyton, "Don't you think we should talk this through first? I mean, I don't really think we're ready for this."

"Nathan," Peyton sighed, "I don't know why, but Brooke and Lucas must have picked us for a reason and I think we owe it to them to do this."

"If you don't," Mr. Wolff said, interrupting them, "then Emily will go into foster care and eventually she will be put up for adoption. Of course it is preferred that in that case she is adopted by family of Brooke and Lucas." He looked at them and gave a sad smile, "So, I suggest the two of you move in here in the interim, for Emily,"

"You want us to live together?" Nathan asked.

"Yes," Mr. Wolff replied, "For Emily. Until you decide what you want to do. But really it's best for now."

Nathan nodded slowly, still not completely understanding what he had just agreed to.

Mr. Wolff gathered his papers and got up. He gave them both a nod; "I will set up the court hearing and will have my assistant send you the details, Mr. Scott, Ms. Sawyer."

* * *

><p>"If you could sign here," Mrs. DeWitt from CPS pointed at the dotted line as she pushed the papers towards Peyton. She waited until Peyton had signed before she pointed at the other dotted line, "And you here, Mr. Scott."<p>

"Perfect." Mrs. DeWitt put the papers into a folder and gave them a little nod, "There she is."

The door to the office opened and an employee came in, carrying Emily, who was crying. Peyton's heart broke when she saw the little girl. She stood up and held out her arms, "Come here, Em."

"Shhh," Nathan had gotten up as well and stroked Emily's back, hoping they could calm her down. He looked at Peyton but talked to Emily, "It's going to be ok."

"Let's take here home, Nathan." Peyton felt for the little girl. If Nathan and she already had no idea what was going on, she couldn't imagine what it must feel like for Emily. She followed Nathan outside to his car and put Emily in the car seat, glad that they had remembered to take it with them before they left.

Nathan got behind the wheel and started the car. He looked at Emily through his rearview mirror and gave a small smile, "We're going home, Em."

Peyton sighed as she put her seatbelt on. Looking out of the window she thought about the last sixteen hours and how much had happened already; she had lost her two best friends and was now taking care of their baby girl. It all felt so unreal. She looked at Nathan and could see he was upset too; his jaw was set in a way that told her he was trying his best to deal with this unexpected situation.

After another silent ride to the house, Nathan got out of the car and waited for Peyton to get Emily before he opened the front door. He let Peyton pass and followed her to the kitchen. He watched as she put Emily in her high chair and noticed she looked miserable. He cleared his throat, "So, what do we do now?"

Peyton looked at Nathan and shook her head, "I have absolutely no idea." She bit her lip and hoped he would come up with something, because she was drawing an absolute blank.

Nathan looked at his watch, "Ok, it's 12:30, so supposing she got up at around, what, eight this morning, I think she needs to eat something, right?"

"I guess so," Peyton dropped her purse on the floor and walked to the fridge, where she found some jars of baby food. She read the labels, grabbed one and turned towards Emily, trying to sound excited, "Alright, sweetie, we're having Cheesy Vegetables for lunch, how does that sound?"

Both Emily and Nathan made a face.

"It's this or Spaghetti something-something," Peyton said, "So take your pick."

"I'd go for the Spaghetti, Em," Nathan gave her a wink, "can't miss with that one."

Emily cooed and clapped her hands in agreement.

"Fine," Peyton sighed and opened the fridge again, taking out another jar, "Spaghetti it is." She grabbed a spoon out of the drawer and sat down in front of Emily, "Alright, let's eat something, huh?"

"I think you're supposed to heat it first," Nathan chuckled.

"Really?" Peyton looked at Nathan, not sure if he was joking or not. "Brooke usually gives them straight out of the fridge."

"Yeah, if it's fruit or something," Nathan shook his head and couldn't help but laugh.

Peyton had to laugh as well. She gave Emily the spoon to play with before she got up again and put the jar in the microwave, "Couldn't they have left us a manual or something? Emily's only been home for a couple of minutes and already I feel like such a fail at this."

"It'll be alright," Nathan gave her a wink. "Just remember, everything but fruit should be warmed up first."

"Gotcha," Peyton nodded before she took the jar out of the microwave again after it beeped. Taking the spoon from Emily, she sat down again, "Just have a little patience with us, Em, will you?"

Emily tilted her head and looked curiously at Peyton.

-x-x-

"Alright, little girl," Peyton put the spoon in the now empty jar, after Emily was finished eating, "I think that went well."

Emily yawned in reply.

"Time for nap, sweetie?" Peyton picked her up and walked to the living room where the playpen was. She put Emily down and watched the little girl fall asleep almost instantly.

"You want coffee?" Nathan asked when Peyton got back in the kitchen.

"Yes, _please_." Peyton sat down at the kitchen table and took the cup from Nathan.

"So, is there anything we should do for the funeral service?" Nathan asked and sat down as well.

"Peyton shook her head, "No, Mr. Wolff said everything was taken care off, I think they wrote everything down in their will or something."

"Good," Nathan replied. He really didn't want to deal with anything but Emily right now.

"I'm just going to see if there's some parenting books around here or something," Peyton said after she finished her coffee. "There has to be something in there that can help us, right?" She got up and walked to Lucas' office, hoping she would find something.

-x-x-

"They didn't think any of this through," Nathan muttered as he walked into the living room a couple of minutes later.

"According to this book we need to establish some kind of sleep schedule." Peyton said at the same time, "It's very important."

"What?" Nathan sat down on the couch and noticed she was reading a book on 'How to raise a happy child'.

"What?" Peyton looked up from her book, "What did you say?"

"I said they didn't think any of this through," Nathan said again. "Did Lucas every say anything to you? Or Brooke? Because they didn't tell me anything."

"Nope." Peyton went back to her book again.

"This is not the kind of thing you just forget to mention," Nathan continued, "Like, 'hey man, did you see that game last week where Kobe put the juke on that dude then hit the fadeaway jumper in the end and win it? Oh and by the way, if I die I'm gonna leave you with my kid.'" He leaned back, "It's messed up."

Peyton sighed, "Brooke was a planner. We are part of a plan."

"You wanna walk me through this plan?" Nathan asked, his anger growing. "Are we supposed to live in this house together? Share the place, both sleep-deprived? With all the history we have? Because that sounds like a compelling psych experiment. Assuming of course you and I can even afford to pay for this place."

"Mr. Wolff already said the mortgage is covered by Brooke's company," Peyton pointed out.

"Well, what about the upkeep? Or the utilities or the taxes?" Nathan argued. "You have any idea what the nut on a place like this is a month? Lucas was a best-selling author. Brooke had her own clothing line. I don't make that kind of cash. And what do you do? You promote crappy music for a living?"

"I run a record label," Peyton shot back, "I do pretty well, Nate."

"Yeah, well, running a baby is not like running a record label, Sawyer."

"I didn't say it was." Peyton put her book down and looked at Nathan. She could tell he was overwhelmed by everything that was happening and knew better than to argue with him at this point.

"They're a mess," Nathan continued, "They pee on things. They bite. They're basically dogs. Except at least a dogs know not to lick the electrical sockets."

Peyton was about to say something when Emily's cries interrupted her. She got up and walked to the playpen, followed by Nathan. She smiled at Emily, "Hi honey."

"Hey, look at the sleepyhead." Nathan picked her up from the playpen and kissed her cheek, immediately shaking his head, "Ugh, what is that smell?"

Peyton leaned in closer and wrinkled her nose, "I think we're going to have to change her diaper."

Nathan, holding Emily at arms length, made his way to the bathroom where he put her down on the changing table. He waited until Peyton was standing next to him, before he gave her a little pat on the back, "Ok, go ahead."

"What?" Peyton said, holding her hand over her nose. "Why me? Because I'm the girl?"

Nathan shrugged, "Well, yeah."

"No. Uh-uh," Peyton shook her head. "I am not changing diapers for the next two years, Nathan. Get in there."

* * *

><p>The doorbell rang and Nathan went to open it, carrying Emily on one arm. He smiled when he saw his mother standing there.<p>

Deb dropped her bag and gave her son a hug, "Hi Nathan."

"Hi mom." Nathan kissed her cheek. "Thank you for coming over."

He had called her yesterday, after they had picked Emily up from CPS. It took a quick conversation with Peyton to make them both realize that they could use some help, not only with Emily, but also with everything else.

"Of course," Deb held out her arms and took Emily from her son, "Hi Emily, I'm auntie Deb."

"I'll get your bags, mom," Nathan said. "I think Peyton's in the kitchen."

Deb walked through the hall to the kitchen where she found Peyton peeling potatoes. She put Emily in her high chair and walked up to the younger woman. She gave her a hug, "Hello Peyton."

"Deb," Peyton choked on a fresh set of tears at the sight of Nathan's mother. She tried to blink them away but failed and gave Deb a small smile, "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Deb grabbed Peyton's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, letting her know that she was there for her. "You have every right to cry, Peyton."

"Thank you," Peyton dried her eyes, relieved that Deb had agreed to help them out until after the funeral service. Deb held a special place in Peyton's heart and if she regretted one thing about breaking up with Nathan, it was that she never stayed in touch with Deb. She had considered Deb as much of a mother as she had Ellie.

Nathan joined them in the kitchen after he had put Deb's suitcase in the spare bedroom. Peyton had given up that room and would sleep in Emily's room for the time being, having found a spare bed in the garage, while Nathan had made Brooke's office his bedroom, after he found out the sofa that was in there could be made into a bed.

"Can I get you anything, Deb?" Peyton asked.

"That's okay," Deb smiled, "why don't I help you with dinner."

Peyton nodded and smiled, "I'm still not much of a cook, so that would be great."

"That _would_ be great," Nathan smirked. "We've been eating nothing but takeout ever since we got here."

"Fine," Peyton threw her potato back in the pan. "Why don't you cook from now on, then? Let's see what you make of it."

"You know I can't cook, Peyton." Nathan replied.

"Yeah, well, you know I can't cook either, Nathan," Peyton shot back, "So don't start with me, okay? I'm not in the mood for this right now."

"You never are," Nathan sat back and shook his head at the look Peyton threw him. He hadn't meant anything with his earlier remark, but it seemed like she took everything personal these days.

Deb felt the need to step in. She knew from past experience that it didn't take much for a little remark like this would turn into a full-blown argument; she had seen it too many times when Nathan and Peyton were still dating. So, she cleared her throat and looked at her son and his ex-girlfriend, "You two need to stop this."

Nathan scoffed, mentally preparing himself for what was to come. He knew his mother and he knew she wouldn't shy away from giving her opinion.

"You two are raising a child now," Deb continued, "and I know this is not how either of you wanted to start a family. And trust me, I know that you are not happy about having to do this together, but that's just the way it is. Whether you want it or not, you two are going to be responsible for Emily until the day she turns eighteen and probably after that too."

"You are going to be there with her on her first day of school," Deb smiled at Emily, who was staring at her with big eyes, as if she understood everything Deb was saying. "You are going to be there when she graduates. When she goes to college." She looked at Nathan, "You are going to walk her down the aisle one day, Nate. Right now, you two are the only secure thing in her life. That little girl has no idea what has happened and it is up to you to make sure that she can grow up in a safe environment, with two people who love her more than anything. So stop with the fighting and the bickering and start giving Emily what she needs."

Nathan sighed, knowing his mother was right. Still, he didn't want her to be. He didn't ask for a child and no matter how much he loved Emily, he wasn't ready for this. He looked at Peyton, who was still biting her lip and he knew she felt the same way.

She looked up when she felt Nathan's stare and tried to give him a smile, but failed. She shrugged and tried her best not to break down. This was all too much; she wasn't sure she could handle this.

Nathan, forgetting about their earlier argument, put his hand on hers and gave it a little squeeze, earning him a real smile from Peyton.

"So," Deb said, returning her attention back to the potatoes, confident that her speech had made some sort of impression after seeing Nathan and Peyton had made peace again. "How was your first night with Emily?"

"Well," Peyton began. "I think it went surprisingly well."

Nathan nodded in agreement, "We gave her a bath and she fell right asleep when we put her to bed. She didn't wake up until eight this morning."

"That's great," Deb smiled, "sleep is important for them at that age."

"I read something about that, yeah," Peyton said slowly. "About that, Deb, I really feel like we're in over our heads here. I have tons of questions and I don't think the books are going to give me a straight answer."

"I'm here for the next four days, Peyton," Deb said with a gentle voice. "You can ask me all the questions you want."

* * *

><p>"I'm back," Peyton said as she closed the front door behind her. She had been in her apartment all afternoon to pack up her belongings and interview potential tenants. It was amazing how many people had shown up, considering she had only put the ad up yesterday. She still wasn't sure how things would work out between her and Nathan and Emily and had decided that instead of selling her apartment, she would rent it out for the time being.<p>

One of the interviews had been with a girl that had reminded Peyton of a younger Brooke. She had that same drive and passion Brooke had and Peyton had taken an immediate liking to her. The girl, Hannah, had gushed over the apartment from the moment she stepped inside, but had admitted at the end of the interview that the rent was a little over her budget. Peyton, feeling a strange sort of connection to the girl, had told her not to worry about it and had lowered the rent so Hannah could afford it. It had earned her a hug and a smile very reminiscent of Brooke's; dimples and all, which made Peyton feel confident she had made the right decision.

Peyton kicked her shoes off and dropped her purse in the hall. She had put most of the boxes in a storage room downtown, not wanting to clutter the house with her things. There were a couple of boxes in the back of her car, but she figured she could take them inside later. She heard talking coming from the living room and found Deb and Emily on the couch, reading a book together.

Emily smiled when Peyton walked into the room and held out her arms.

"Hi Em," Peyton picked up the little girl and gave her a kiss, "Did you miss me?"

"She did." Deb put the book down and smiled, "but we had quite a fun afternoon together, didn't we, Emily?"

Emily clapped her hands, agreeing with Deb.

"Where's Nathan?" Peyton sat down on the couch next to Deb.

"He went out just after you left," Deb gave Emily her stuffed purple monkey to play with and looked at Peyton with concern in her eyes, "I haven't seen him since. I tried to call him to ask if he was coming home for dinner, but he didn't answer his phone."

Peyton nodded, knowing this was just his way of dealing with things. She wasn't the only one who had made a habit of shutting people out when things got tough. She put her hand on Deb's arm, "Do you mind watching Emily for a while longer?"

"Of course not," Deb said and shook her head, "Are you going to look for Nathan?"

"Yeah."

"Should I wait for you with dinner?" Deb asked. She looked at Peyton, who had already gotten up from the couch.

"No, this might take a while." Peyton smiled at Deb, who nodded. She gave Emily a quick kiss and walked to the hall where she put her Converse on. She grabbed her purse and headed out the door, not bothering to take her car. She knew where Nathan was and she figured the walk there might help her clear her head.

-x-x-

Nathan wasn't surprised when he saw a certain blonde walking towards him out of the corner of his eye. He had expected her to find him here.

Here was the Rivercourt.

He had left the house earlier today wanting to go out for a drive so he could be alone for a little while. The drive had brought him here almost immediately and he had been sitting on the bleachers all afternoon, thinking about anything and everything, trying to escape reality. His mother had called about an hour ago, but he had ignored her call, not quite ready to deal with reality again.

He felt Peyton sitting down next to him, but kept looking straight ahead. He was glad when she didn't attempt to make conversation like other people probably would have. So they just sat in silence.

Peyton folded her hands together and closed her eyes for a second, trying to block out any thoughts she was having. She understood why Nathan had come here; it was a place that held many memories and the perfect spot to drown in self-pity for a while.

All of a sudden Nathan's voice interrupted the silence.

"Tomorrow is going to be one hell of a day."

He didn't know why he said that out loud. But it was all he had been thinking about for the last couple of hours. Tomorrow was the day of the funeral service; the day they would have to say goodbye to Lucas and Brooke.

"Yeah," Peyton quietly agreed, keeping her eyes closed.

"I'm seriously thinking about not going," Nathan continued, "I mean, who's stopping me from getting in my car and disappearing for a few days?"

Peyton opened her eyes and looked at the man sitting next to her. She put her hand on his knee and gave it a little squeeze. "Emily," she simply stated as an answer to his question. "Emily is the reason why you can't. You know that, Nathan," her voice was gentle and her hand moved, taking a hold of his.

Nathan nodded, knowing that she was right. He took a deep breath before he spoke again, "You know I will do anything for that little girl."

"I know," Peyton agreed.

They returned to silence again. Nathan thought about Emily and how, out of all three of them, she seemed to be adjusting best to their new situation. He didn't know at what age kids started remembering things, but part of him hoped that she was too young to fully understand what was going on. Of course, when she was older, they would have to tell her what happened to her parents, something he already was not looking forward to. Nathan glanced at his watch and saw that it was way past dinnertime. He gave Peyton's hand a little squeeze, "Why don't we go home?"

"I don't really want to," Peyton admitted softly, "Why do you think I have been out all afternoon?"

"Yeah, how did that go?" Nathan asked. He didn't mind sitting here a little while longer, "Did you find a tenant for your place?"

Peyton nodded, "Yeah."

"And all your things?"

"I've put all my records and paintings in storage," Peyton shrugged, "My clothes and some other things I need are still in the back of my car, waiting to be unpacked."

"So you've officially moved then, huh?"

"I guess so," Peyton answered. "It's weird."

Nathan let go of her hand and put his arm around her shoulders, "It sure is."

"What about your place?" Peyton put her head on his shoulder and inhaled his familiar scent; he still wore the same cologne as he did in high school. She had gifted him a bottle on his birthday once; apparently he had been wearing it ever since. It made her smile a little, because it made her remember the good times they had shared.

"I don't know," Nathan said honestly. "I gave notice to my landlord yesterday, but I still have until the end of the month to move everything out."

"Why don't we make it a team effort?" Peyton suggested.

"What do you mean?"

"Like I said, I don't really feel like going home right now and your mom said she didn't mind watching Emily for the night," Peyton sat up, excited about her idea. "So why don't we grab something to eat, buy some beers and then head over to your house to pack?"

Nathan thought about what she's proposed and agreed, "Sounds like a plan, Sawyer."

-x-x-

They had been packing for almost two hours and were almost done when Peyton let out a laugh. She walked to the living room, "Why do you still have this?"

"What?" Nathan popped his head out of the kitchen and looked at what Peyton was holding in her hand, "What is that?"

"This," Peyton said while she walked towards Nathan to show him what she was talking about, "is a picture of us during the summer before Junior Year. Why do you still have it?"

"I don't know," Nathan said honestly, "Where did you find it?" He really didn't remember that he still had the picture; he thought he had thrown everything out that had to do with Peyton after they broke up for the last time.

"Between some other stuff from high school," Peyton answered. "God, do you remember how we spent every day at the beach?"

"Yeah," Nathan stepped out of the kitchen and stood next to Peyton. He looked at the picture and could help but smile; they were both sixteen and as in love as they ever would be. In the picture Nathan was standing behind Peyton and had his arms around her waist, with both of them smiling. "You were never happier."

"And you were never hornier," Peyton shot back.


	3. Chapter 3

_**AN**__: Thank you so much to everyone who has left a review on the previous chapter. It truly means a lot!_

_Nanou; I'll try my best to make every chapter a long one, but can't make any promises :)_

_As a fact, this is a rather short chapter, I'm sorry. I just really struggled with this all throughout. I hope you will like it anyway. Reviews and/or suggestions are very much appreciated :)_

* * *

><p>There was a knock on the passenger's side window and when both Peyton and Nathan looked up they saw Victoria Davis gesturing at her watch, one eyebrow raised.<p>

Peyton gave her a small nod, letting her know that she knew that it was time for them to go inside. Peyton could see Victoria wasn't happy that the two of them didn't immediately jump out of the car at her command. The woman narrowed her eyes, but walked away without making a scene.

They had been sitting together in the car ever since they arrived at the church, which was about fifteen minutes ago. Every now and then people would pass them by as they made their way into the church, but neither Nathan nor Peyton had acknowledged them. Both were too caught up in their own thoughts to notice was what going on around them.

Nathan looked at his watch and knew they should get inside; the service would start in a couple of minutes. He let out a sigh and looked at Peyton, "Ready?"

Peyton shook her head, "No."

"I know." Nathan didn't know what else to say. He put his hand on hers and gave it a little squeeze.

Peyton gave him a small smile before she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, preparing herself for what was to come. She felt Nathan letting go of her hand and heard him open the door. She did the same and stepped out of the car.

Nathan walked over to the passenger's side and took Peyton's hand in his again, leading her toward the church. It had been years since they last walked hand in hand, and this time it wasn't because they wanted the world to know that they were in love. This time it was because Nathan knew that if he didn't hold her hand, neither of them would make it inside. He looked at her as they were about to step inside and gave her a little nod and whispered, "We can do this, Peyton."

Peyton nodded in reply and let him guide her to their seats in the front row. They were seated next to Victoria, who didn't look at them as they sat down. She could hear the doors of the church close behind them as silence took over the soft humming of various hushed conversations.

-x-x-

It wasn't until she heard the minister saying her name that Peyton realized she hadn't been paying attention to the service. She had been lost in her own thoughts ever since the minister spoke his first words, not wanting to hear the words that would make it all so real.

She stood up and walked over to the front of the room, where the minister stepped aside so she could use the microphone. She looked at the piece of paper in her hands; it had been folded and unfolded so many times that it was hard to read was she had written, but it didn't matter. She knew what she was going to say. She didn't need a piece of paper to remind the words that were already in her heart. She took a deep breath and looked up, her eyes quickly found Nathan's.

Nathan gave her an encouraging smile. When the minister had contacted them and asked if either of them wanted to give a eulogy, he had rejected right away. He wasn't good with words, he never was, and he knew he would only mess it up. Peyton had been hesitant at first, but he could tell she really wanted to do this. Not only because Brooke and Lucas were her best friends, but also because she never got the chance with Anna or Ellie.

He had watched her as she sat at the kitchen table last night, trying to write down the words that would describe her life with Brooke and Lucas. He had watched her cry when she remembered all the times they had spent together and how she had always considered Brooke to be her sister. He knew that this would be a difficult task for her, but he also knew that she would stop at nothing to complete it. And when she told him she was afraid of speaking in front of so many people, he suggested that she should look at him while she was up there. He had promised he would help her through this.

Peyton felt a calm coming over when she locked eyes with Nathan and cleared her throat, "Dear Brooke, dear Lucas, I am going to keep this short, because I know you have better things to do than watch a bunch of people mourn your deaths. You are probably up there, wherever that is, having a ball with Keith and Ellie and Anna. That is what I hope, anyway. I hope you are in a safe place, where there is nothing but love surrounding you.

"Just like there will be nothing but love surrounding your little girl down here. She misses you. So do Nathan and I. So do your parents and your family and your friends. We all miss you. But that won't bring you back, will it? We just have to find a way to keep living our lives without you in it. We are going to have to find a way to fill the void you have left in all of our hearts. And it hurts, but we will try our very best. In honor of you. And for Emily. _Always _for Emily. "

Peyton blinked away the tears that had formed in her eyes before she continued, "And, because you know me and you know I can't go through all of this without music, I leave you with the words of a song that remind me of you;

_Love it will not betray you,_

_Dismay or enslave you,_

_It will set you free._

Goodbye my dear friends. I think I speak for all of us when I say that it was a great, great pleasure to have you in our lives."

* * *

><p>The house was filled with people, most of whom had also attended the funeral service. There were friends and colleagues of Brooke and Lucas, some family members neither Peyton nor Nathan had ever seen, and a few of their neighbors.<p>

Victoria, who had only flown in from New York for the funeral, had left right after the service ended because there was a board meeting the next day where they would discuss the future of Brooke's clothing line, Clothes over Bros.

Karen and Andy had called a couple of days earlier, letting them know that they would not attend. The journey from New Zealand was long so instead they had chosen to honor Lucas and Brooke in a special ceremony at their church.

Nathan and Peyton were in the kitchen, hiding from all the strangers in the living room.

"Are you ok?" Nathan asked after they had sat together in silence for at least half an hour.

Peyton shook her head.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Nathan offered even though he knew he wouldn't be of much help once she did. Comforting people wasn't his strong suit.

Peyton tried to smile but failed. She spoke softly, "It's just that it's all so real now, you know? They really are gone and they're not coming back. Ever."

"Yeah," Nathan nodded slowly, "I know."

Peyton cleared her throat and got up, trying to be brave, "I'm going to see if anybody needs anything." She grabbed a plate of sandwiches to take with her to the living room. It wasn't that she didn't want to talk to Nathan, it was more that she was afraid that she would completely break down when she did.

Nathan turned around and opened the fridge, taking out a beer. He didn't really feel like talking to anyone and decided to hang out in the kitchen a little longer. Most of the people out there didn't even know him and the ones that did would understand his actions. He sat back in his chair and closed his eyes, hoping this day would be over soon.

The sound of the kitchen door slamming shut a couple of minutes later made Nathan open his eyes. He wasn't surprised to see Peyton had returned.

"I can't deal with all these people right now," Peyton leaned against the kitchen door, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, "They keep asking the same things over and over again; 'How are you?', 'What is going to happen with Emily?', 'Are you two married?' God!"

"There's beer in the fridge," Nathan suggested, knowing that she was way past the point that coffee could fix.

"Thank you." Peyton grabbed a bottle and sat down next to him, "I am so not good at this; Brooke always was the one with the people skills."

Nathan nodded in agreement. He put his hand on hers and gave it a gentle squeeze. He hoped she understood that he was trying to comfort her but that he didn't know what words would make her feel better. Lucas had always been the one who knew his way with words.

* * *

><p>"Next case, the matter of Emily Davis-Scott, Index number 05893-01."<p>

"Al right, I've read your submissions, along with the will," Judge Gorling looked over the rim of her glasses at Peyton and Nathan. "Given that you folks were named as guardians I see no reason to countermand the parents' wishes. However, permit—"

Peyton, who was holding Emily, tried to move her onto her other arm when the cup of goldfish crackers Emily was holding fell on the ground. Peyton looked up at the judge, "Oh, I 'm sorry. I'm sorry." She handed Emily to Nathan and bent down, trying to collect the crackers.

"Just leave it," Nathan said under his breath.

"We're in a courtroom, Nathan, I can't just leave them here." Peyton shook her head, putting the crackers back in the cup.

"Guys, guys, okay," Mr. Wolff bent down and looked at Peyton, "let's leave the goldfish. What do you say we stand up?"

"Okay, " Peyton said as she picked up the last crackers, "Okay."

"Stand up," Mr. Wolff stressed, giving the judge an apologetic smile, "Just leave them, Ms. Sawyer."

Peyton stood up, not daring to look at the judge.

"Until that time," the judge continued as though nothing had happened, "I hereby grant joint legal and physical custody of Emily Davis-Scott to Peyton Sawyer and Nathan Scott."

Peyton let out a sigh of relief. Even though Mr. Wolff had assured them that this court hearing was just a formality, she still had been nervous.

"That it? You're not gonna ask us anything? " Nathan looked at the judge, surprised by how easy they had gotten custody of Emily. "How do you know we're not drug dealers or pimps?"

"Nathan," Peyton said quickly, hoping he wouldn't say anything else. She shot him a look and shook her head, one eyebrow raised.

"Are you drug dealers or pimps?" Judge Gorling asked.

"No, ma'am. No." Peyton shook her head and smiled at the judge, hoping with all her might that this wouldn't change the outcome of the hearing.

Judge Gorling nodded and waved dismissively with her hand, letting them know that the hearing was done.

"Let's go," Mr. Wolff gestured for them to follow him.

Nathan and Peyton followed the lawyer outside, where Deb was waiting for them.

"How did it go?" Deb asked, taking Emily from Nathan.

"As expected," Mr. Wolff answered with a smile. "Ms. Sawyer and Mr. Scott now have legal custody of Emily."

"That's good," Deb smiled at Nathan, but was met by his scowl.

"I don't understand," Nathan began, "It's like, 'Boom. Done. Next case.' Shouldn't they be checking our credentials or something? Or at least ask how we feel about all of this? But no, it's all 'Here take a kid. No, take two, we got extra'."

Mr. Wolff shook both Peyton's and Nathan's hand, "This is where I leave you, Ms. Sawyer, Mr. Scott. Should you have any question, do not hesitate to contact my office."

"Thank you, Mr. Wolff," Peyton smiled at the older man.

"And don't forget," Mr. Wolff raised three fingers, "There will three unannounced visits from CPS this year, you still only have temporary custody."

Peyton nodded in response. She watched Mr. Wolff walk away before she turned around and saw that Nathan was still fuming. "Are you alright, Nate?"

"I don't get it," Nathan continued without missing a beat, "I've been good. Some chick says: 'Oh, Nathan, you can forget the condom,' I say no, and I _still_ end up with a kid."

Peyton couldn't help but smile and when she looked at Deb she could tell the other woman was trying her hardest not to laugh. She gave Nathan a gentle shove towards the exit, "Come on, let's go home."

"Thank you so much for helping out these past couple of days, Deb," Peyton said while she gave her a hug. "I don't think we could have done it without you."

Deb placed her hands on Peyton's arms and smiled, "You will do fine, Peyton. And you can always call me." She turned toward Nathan, "That goes for the both of you, by the way."

"Thanks, mom," Nathan gave her kiss on the cheek before he handed Emily to her.

"Bye, sweet little girl," Deb said, "You be good, alright?"

Emily threw her arms around Deb's neck in response and gave her a hug.

"Alright," Deb handed Emily to Peyton, who put her in her stroller. She gave Nathan a hug, and whispered in his ear, "You be good too, Nate. This is your family now."

Nathan nodded. He let go of his mother and watched as Deb picked up her bag and walked toward the security check.

Deb turned around right before she went through security and waved. She couldn't help but smile when she saw her son and his ex-girlfriend standing side by side behind Emily's stroller.

Nathan gave his mother a quick wave before he turned to Peyton, "I don't know about you, but I'm not really ready to go home." He pushed the stroller toward the exit and waited for Peyton to come through the revolving door.

Peyton looked at him and smiled once she realized what he was getting at. She squinted at the sun that was shining down on them and took out her sunglasses. "Am I thinking what your thinking?" she asked.

"The beach," both of them said at the same time. Emily cooed in agreement.

-x-x-

"It's been ages since I've last been here," Peyton said while she sat down on the sand and put Emily on her lap so she could take her shoes off.

They were at the beach, near the shoreline. Nathan had already kicked his shoes off and was now making funny faces at Emily, who giggled. Even though it was only the end of February it was unusually warm for the time of year and they weren't the only ones who had made the trip down here on this Saturday afternoon. The beach was filled with people walking their dogs, jogging or just taking a stroll across the sand.

Nathan picked up Emily once Peyton was done and walked toward the water. Emily started clapping her hands as to encourage him and started wriggling in his arms. He laughed, "Are you ready to get your feet wet, Em?"

Emily cooed in response.

Peyton, also with her shoes off, put her sunglasses back on and smiled when she saw Nathan standing in the water; his jeans rolled up to his knees, holding Emily by the hands, letting only her feet touch the water. The little girl was screaming in excitement.

And elderly couple was walking past Nathan and Emily and the woman smiled at Peyton, "You have a beautiful family, dear."

"Oh, they're not," but Peyton hesitated, not sure if she wanted to explain to the woman that this wasn't her family, that they were taking care of Emily because her parents died. But then, a second later, she realized that from now on Nathan and Emily were her family. She looked up at the older woman and smiled, "Thank you."


	4. Chapter 4

_**AN**__: Thank you so much for those of you who read and reviewed the previous chapter! _

_As for this chapter - a lot of new characters will be introduced, which is always a good thing, right? I hope you'll like the new additions. It's a short chapter again, I'm sorry. I'm struggling a bit with writing Emily into the story; she often ends up just sitting in her high chair… So if you have any suggestions on things Nathan and Peyton could do together with Emily (or whatever else you'd like to see in here), let me know, I'm open to anything :) _

_And, as always, reviews are appreciated!_

* * *

><p>"Alright, I'm off to check in at work," Peyton grabbed her car keys and purse and looked at Nathan, "Are you sure you don't mind watching her for the afternoon? I'll be home at five."<p>

Nathan shook his head, "Nah, we'll be fine." He looked at Emily who was sitting next to him on the couch, "Right, Em?"

Emily put both her arms in the air as though she was agreeing.

Peyton smiled and kissed Emily's forehead, "You be good, little girl." She looked at Nathan with a raised eyebrow, "Same goes for you, Nathan."

"Yes, ma'am." Nathan nodded. He could tell it was hard for Peyton to leave them alone, but it was something that would happen more from now on, after all there were only so many days they could skip work.

"We are going to have to figure out some sort of schedule one of these days, Nate. I'm sure you have to get back to work at some point too," she hesitated, "Are you sure about this? You know where everything is, right?"

"Just go, Peyton," Nathan flashed his famous up-to-no-good grin, "We'll be fine."

Emily watched Peyton curiously as she walked out of the living and then turned to Nathan.

Nathan looked at Emily, "What do you want to do, Em? Have a little snack, watch a little basketball, play with your stuffed animals or go grocery shopping?"

Emily giggled in response.

"You want to do everything? Nice," Nathan gave her a high five, "Let's start with a snack, Em." He picked her up and walked to the kitchen where he put her in her high chair before he opened the fridge, "Alright, watermelon, banana or apple, take your pick."

"Mmmm," Emily responded.

"A fruit salad?" Nathan grinned. "Excellent choice, Ms. Davis- Scott, excellent choice."

-x-x-

Nathan had just unloaded the last of the grocery bags and was about to start with dinner, which meant preheating the oven for when Peyton got home, when there was a knock on the front door. He heard Emily coo and picked her up, "Let's see who that is, huh?"

He opened the door, and was met by four people he had never seen before.

"Hi," a woman with auburn hair and brown eyes smiled gently, "I'm Haley James."

"Jake Jagielski," a man standing behind Haley said with a genuine smile.

"Hi, I'm Rachel and this is my husband Marvin, but everybody calls him Mouth," the redhead gestured at the man standing next to her, who gave Nathan a nod.

"Hi," Nathan said, hesitating. He now knew their names, but he still didn't know who these people were. His confusion must have shown on his face, because the woman named Haley spoke again.

"We are you neighbors," Haley said with a smile, "We were at the funeral last week, but we didn't really see you or Peyton, so we thought we'd drop by today."

"Oh, ok," Nathan said slowly, "but Peyton is not here right now so-"

"That's ok," Rachel interrupted him.

"We brought food," Haley offered and held up a grocery bag filled with food containers.

Nathan looked at Emily, who seemed to know the crowd gathered on their front step, because she held out her hands toward Haley. He shrugged and stepped aside, "Sure, ok."

He watched as the small group of people made their way inside and walked straight to the kitchen where they sat down at the large table. He put Emily in her high chair and debated what to do next.

"Well, don't just stand there, handsome," Rachel began, "you could at least offer us a coffee or something."

"Rachel," Mouth sighed, but he didn't say anything else.

"Right," Nathan wasn't sure what to make of Rachel and he was glad he could focus on making coffee instead.

"Brooke and Lucas often talked about you and Peyton," Haley said with a gentle tone, "It's a shame we never got to meet before the accident."

Nathan knew Haley was just trying to make conversation, and she probably meant nothing by it, but the way she so randomly brought up Lucas and Brooke made him angry for some reason. He didn't reply and instead just nodded, which only seemed to encourage her.

"They were so welcoming when I moved here a couple of years ago," Haley continued, "I guess we are all pretty close in this neighborhood."

Rachel, Mouth and Jake nodded in agreement.

"Which is why we came by," Jake explained, "We want you to know that we are happy to help if you ever need anything."

"Thank you," Nathan spoke quietly. He was about to get the cups from the cupboard when he heard the front door open.

"Nate?" Peyton's voice echoed through the hallway, "I'm sorry I'm so late."

"Excuse me for one second," Nathan said as he walked out of the kitchen.

Peyton looked up and saw Nathan walking toward her, a confused look in his eyes. "What is it? Is Emily ok?" Peyton asked, "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine," Nathan spoke quickly, while he grabbed her arm and pulled her into the living room. He continued in a hushed voice, "Four of our neighbors are sitting in our kitchen, waiting on a cup of coffee they invited themselves to."

"Ok," Peyton furrowed her brow, confused, "but Emily's fine?"

"Emily is fine," Nathan confirmed. "It's just that I have no idea why they are here and what they want from us. And they started talking about Lucas and Brooke and -" he took a deep breath, "I don't know them, Peyton, and I don't want to talk to them about what happened."

Peyton gave him a genuine smile, "I know, but we might as well hear them out, right? They probably just want to help, like any good neighbor would do. Just because you and I are socially awkward and don't trust people we've never met before doesn't mean that they're bad people."

Nathan relaxed a little, "I guess."

"Come on," Peyton pushed him out of the living room, "Let's be socially awkward together."

-x-x-

"They weren't so bad," Peyton said as she closed the front door behind her, carrying Emily on one arm.

They had spent the last two hours talking to and getting to know their new neighbors. It turned out that Jake's daughter, Jenny, was Emily's babysitter and had been watching her the night of the accident. Jake had told them that Jenny still was very upset about what happened, but that she also missed Emily. Peyton had assured Jake that Jenny could come by any time and that they'd probably ask her to babysit in the future.

Haley, who lived two houses down, was the owner of Café James in town, hence all the food she had brought along. Together with Jake, she seemed the most normal of their neighbors. Jake was recently divorced and had only moved into the neighborhood a couple of months ago, but seemed to get along with his neighbors really well. Rachel and Mouth, who lived on the other side of the street, seemed like an odd couple and both Peyton and Nathan wondered what their story was.

"Yeah," Nathan agreed. "It was just a little weird how they all showed up unannounced, you know? Like they were checking up on us or something."

Peyton laughed, "Maybe one of them is our caseworker from CPS."

Nathan grimaced, "I hope not."

Peyton looked at her watch and saw that Emily's bedtime was fast approaching. "Would you like to give Emily a bath while I get dinner started?"

"Sure," Nathan took Emily from Peyton and headed upstairs. He paused midway and looked at Peyton with a grin, "I hope that what you mean by 'getting dinner started' is popping a pizza in the oven."

Peyton nodded and smiled back at him, "That's exactly what I meant."

* * *

><p>"I'm glad we finally got a schedule up." Peyton smiled, while she watched the big planner that was hanging in the hall.<p>

Each of them had written down when they absolutely _had_ to be at the office. Nathan and Peyton were lucky enough that a lot of their work could also be done from home and they had decided that they would try to spend as much time with Emily as possible, especially in the first few months. This resulted in Peyton working at home on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, while Nathan was there on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Another part of their jobs was that they both had events they needed to attend. For Peyton those were showcases or album launches, which were mostly held in the evening, while Nathan was usually tied up in the weekends when he was scouting new talent during basketball games. He was grateful that his partner, Clay, had offered to go to most of the games, except for a few local ones. These special events were marked with post-its; blue for Nathan and green for Peyton.

"Seeing this actually makes me starting to believe that we can make this work somehow," Nathan said, and put his arm around Peyton.

She nodded in agreement, "I think so too."

Nathan grabbed a yellow post-it and scribbled a few words on it before putting it on the planner on today's square.

Peyton laughed when she read what he had written down, "I agree, we could definitely do with a couple of beers tonight, it's Friday after all." She watched him as he walked to the kitchen and couldn't help but smile when she thought about how things were going at the moment. They really had set their personal differences aside and tried their best to give Emily what she needed. Peyton waited until Nathan returned with two beers in hand and followed him into the living room where she curled up on the couch.

Nathan held up his bottle, "Cheers." He took a sip and watched Peyton do the same. He smiled when he saw her closing her eyes and giving a small shudder as she swallowed the bitter liquid, something she had always done, even back when they were dating. Memories of their relationship suddenly flooded his mind, although there was one in particular that stood out. He took another sip of his beer before he spoke, "Do you remember that dance we went to together in sophomore year?"

Peyton looked up, surprised. "I do," she smiled, "Wasn't that the one were Tim got so drunk he threw up on coach Whitey?"

Nathan nodded, "Yeah, he got three months worth of detention for that, and had to clean up the gym after every practice for the rest of the year." He laughed, "Tim really was a weird guy, huh?"

"Yeah," Peyton shook her head, "He really looked up to you, though. He was always following you around and either doing whatever you were doing or what you told him to do."

"I haven't talked to him in ages," Nathan said, "Not since graduation, anyway."

"Did you know he asked me out after you and I broke up?"

"What?" Nathan looked at Peyton, "Are you serious?"

"Yup," Peyton laughed, "He basically told me that since that I had broken up with you, he was the next best thing."

"Such a typical thing for Tim to say," Nathan scoffed, "That dance was fun though, wasn't it?"

Peyton thought back to the winter formal, how Nathan had picked her up in a car he had borrowed from his dad's dealership, how he had given her a corsage and how, for one time, he had not looked at other girls while they were at the dance. She nodded slowly, "It was definitely one of our better days."

They were interrupted by Emily's cries over the baby phone. Peyton put her beer bottle down on the coffee table and made her way upstairs. She found Emily in tears and figured the little girl probably had a bad dream. She gently picked Emily up and held her in her arms as she sat down in the rocking chair. She reached out to the iPod that stood in the docking station on the nightstand next to her and pressed play, the quiet tones of The Replacements' Here Comes A Regular filling the room.

When Nathan went upstairs half an hour later, he found both Peyton and Emily sleeping. He carefully took Emily from Peyton's arms and put her back in her crib, before he grabbed a blanket out of the linen closet and draped it over Peyton. Quietly he walked out of the room and went to his bedroom.

* * *

><p>"Ready to do some shopping, Em?" Nathan asked as he put her in the shopping cart. She patted his arm in reply and he smiled.<p>

"Alright," Peyton rummaged through her bag until she found the grocery list she had written down so carefully earlier. "Here we go."

Nathan stayed with Emily, while Peyton walked around the different aisles, throwing things in the shopping cart at regular intervals. He smiled when he saw a familiar face on the other side of the cereal aisle, "Morning."

"Nathan," the other man looked up in surprise, "Never thought I'd see you out and about this early on a Saturday morning."

Nathan laughed, "Me neither, man, but Peyton insisted we'd go early, plus Emily here has a very important nap scheduled around twelve, so we have to be back by then."

"I understand, I understand," Clay smiled at Emily, "Hi little girl, how are you doing?"

Emily cooed in response.

"I think she likes you." Peyton said as she rejoined Nathan and Emily. She held out her hand, "Hi, I'm Peyton Sawyer."

"Clay Evans, nice to meet you."

"Nathan's business partner," Peyton nodded. "It's nice to be able to put a face to a name." She took an immediate liking to Clay.

"Same here," Clay smiled. "But I really should get going, I have a game to get to."

"Yeah, about that," Nathan began, "Are you sure you don't want me to go? Peyton and I talked about it and it really is no problem."

"It really isn't," Peyton agreed. "I don't have anything planned for this weekend, so Nathan can go in your place if you want."

"No, that's ok," Clay shook his head, "It's been a while since I last saw the Bobcats play and I'm looking forward to it."

"Call me if you need anything, though," Nathan said.

"Don't count on it," Clay gave a little nod, "Nice to meet you, Peyton. And I'll see you on Tuesday, Nate. Enjoy your weekend."

"I like him," Peyton said when Clay had left, "he seems nice."

"He is," Nathan agreed. "He was my agent when I still played and the first to offer me a job after I found out I couldn't play anymore."

Peyton nodded. Although Brooke and Lucas had kept her informed about Nathan's career, they never really told her why he had to quit basketball and she never asked. She knew better than to ask him about it in the middle of a supermarket. The look on his face told her that it wasn't something he liked to talk about when pushed, but she hoped he would open up to her eventually.

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN<strong>__: Just to clarify things; Lucas, Brooke, Nathan and Peyton all went to Tree Hill High together, while Haley, Jake, Rachel and Mouth were attending different schools and only know each other as neighbors_.


	5. Chapter 5

_**AN:**__ I am not sure anyone is still interested in this story since it took me 2,5 years to update, but I really,_ really_ want to continue with this and so I hope to get back to regular updating and actually finishing this story._

_Now, if you have read the previous chapters (thank you!) I would suggest a quick re-read because there have been some minor changes to those._

_Thank you for reading and as always; reviews are appreciated :)_

* * *

><p>"Good morning, gorgeous," Nathan smiled when he picked Emily up from her crib.<p>

The little girl looked at him through hooded eyes, not completely awake yet.

Nathan placed a kiss on her cheek, "Let's get you ready for today, missy."

Ever since Deb went home, Nathan and Peyton had slowly developed a daily routine. Nathan, who was up early anyway because of his daily run, had agreed to take care of Emily in the morning. He would get Emily dressed and have breakfast with her, after which they would wake up Peyton, who wasn't much of a morning person at all. If Peyton had to work, Nathan took care of Emily for the rest of the day, and if Nathan had to work, he would let Peyton sleep in a little longer and would only wake her right before he was about to leave.

Emily, who was now dressed and sitting in her high chair in the kitchen, watched Nathan curiously as he made them breakfast. She clapped her hands when Nathan flipped a pancake high in the air.

Nathan looked at Emily, who clapped her hands again. He smiled and gave her a wink, "I'm glad you like pancakes, kid. It's one of the few things I know how to make."

Emily blew a raspberry in agreement.

Nathan put one of the smaller pancakes on a pink plastic plate and cut it in small pieces before drizzling it with syrup and adding some blueberries to the side. He put it in front of Emily, "Here you go."

Emily picked up a blueberry and popped it in her mouth, "Mmm."

"Yeah, you like those, don't you?" Nathan sat down at the kitchen table with a slightly bigger stack of pancakes on his plate, and a cup of coffee.

They both finished their plate at the same time and Emily held out both her arms, already knowing what was next on their schedule.

Nathan picked her up and carried her upstairs, to the guest bedroom. He knocked on the door before he opened it and heard Peyton moan. He chuckled, "Morning, sunshine."

"How many times do I have to tell you, Nathan," Peyton slowly opened her eyes, "anything before 9 o'clock isn't called morning, it's called the middle of the night."

"Yeah, well, us normal people have to be at work by nine, so here you go," Nathan said as he put Emily down on the bed next to Peyton.

Emily threw her arms around Peyton's neck and kissed her cheek.

Peyton let out a laugh, "Morning, Em."

"Alright, I'm off," Nathan walked out of the room, "I'll see you girls tonight."

"Bye," Peyton yelled after him while Emily waved to no one in particular.

-x-x-

"Em, please," Peyton said as she tried to calm the little girl down. "It's ok, I'm here. Please stop crying."

Emily kicked around in Peyton's arms and let out another wail.

"Em, come on," Peyton pleaded. Emily had been like this for the better part of half an hour now, and Peyton was getting more and more frustrated about not being able to calm her down. She was upset that this wasn't the first time Emily was having a tantrum when Nathan was not around. It happened on the first day he left for work, but Peyton had soldiered through that time, thinking it would take some time until Emily was used to their schedule. But then it happened on Wednesday as well, and today, Friday, was no different.

"Come on, baby, it's ok. It's ok." She grabbed Emily's purple monkey off the couch and tried to hand it to the little girl, as a distraction, "Look who it is, it's your favorite monkey, Em."

But Emily just cried harder and threw her head back. She screamed, her face red and hot tears running down her cheeks.

Peyton let out a frustrated huff and walked to the kitchen to get her phone. She dialed Nathan's number and waited for him to pick up.

"Hello?"

"Nathan?" Peyton asked. "Nathan, it's me. I'm sorry but,"

"Peyton?" Nathan had a difficult time hearing her over Emily's cries. "What's going on?"

"It's Emily." Peyton said while she paced around the kitchen, "She's been crying for over half an hour now and I don't know what's wrong with her."

Nathan shook his head, surprised at how defeated Peyton sounded, "Is she sick?"

"I don't know, Nathan," Peyton snapped, "She was fine this morning but then she woke up from her nap and she has been crying and kicking and screaming and I can't get her to calm down and she doesn't want to eat and-"

"Peyton," Nathan said as he got up and grabbed his car keys, "I'll be right there, ok? Just hang in there."

"Yeah, ok"

Nathan heard the desperation in Peyton's voice, "It'll be fine, Peyton. I'll be there in ten." He hung up the phone and looked at Clay with an apologetic look, "I'm sorry, but there's something going on with Emily and Peyton is starting to freak out-"

"It's ok, Nate," Clay gave him a dismissive wave, "I'll see you on Monday."

"Thanks, man," Nathan gave him a nod and hurried to his car.

-x-x-

"Unbelievable," Peyton shook her head. "Un-freaking-believable."

"Will you calm down?" Nathan shook his head at Emily, "Peyton is a hot-head, right Em?"

Peyton sat down on the couch and sighed, "Unbelievable."

He shrugged, "Maybe it was just one of those days, you know."

Peyton leaned back and closed her eyes, not bothering to reply to Nathan.

"Peyton, come on," Nathan sat down next to her, so he could keep one eye on Emily, who was playing with her stuffed animals in the playpen, "It's not your fault."

"Stop it, Nathan," Peyton snapped. "Do you have any idea how frustrating this is? It's all fun and games when I am at work and it's just the two of you hanging out, but whenever I'm the one who stays at home to take care of her, she has one of her 'off-days'," Peyton air-quoted the word, "as you like to put it. And then you come home and soothe her and everything is ok again."

"Peyton-"

"No!" Peyton raised her finger, "No. She had been crying for over half an hour, Nathan, nothing I could do, and then you walk in," Peyton gestured at Nathan, "and suddenly everything is fine."

"Maybe she just likes me better." He realized it was a mistake the second the words left his mouth, but by then the damage was already done.

Peyton narrowed her eyes and shook her head, "Really?"

"Oh, come on, Peyton," Nathan tried, "it was just a joke. I didn't mean it."

"Just stop talking, Nathan,"

Nathan was about to apologize when a knock on the door interrupted him. "Please, don't be the neighbors," he muttered as he went to open the door.

The unfamiliar woman held out her hand and smiled, "Hi, Nathan Scott? I'm Janine Groff."

"Who?"

"Your caseworker from Social Services," Janine dropped her hand and stared at Nathan, one eyebrow raised.

"Oh," Nathan suddenly remembered the unannounced visit Mr. Wolff warned them about. "Just give me one minute, ok?" He closed the door and rushed to the living room, "That lady from Social Services is here, and I know we are in the middle of a fight, Peyton, but we really need to pull our shit together right now."

Peyton, feeling a little panicked, nodded, "For Emily, right?"

"Yeah," Nathan agreed. "For Emily."

Together they walked to the front door and let Janine in.

"Sorry about that Janine," Nathan apologized, "I just had to let Peyton know you were here so she could eh..."

"Get out of the shower and get decent," Peyton added, a smile plastered on her face. "Hi, I'm Peyton Sawyer."

"Janine Groff," Janine shook Peyton's hand, her eyes lingering on Peyton's dry hair, like she wasn't buying it.

"Oh, yeah, that. I only wash it twice a week," Peyton gave Janine a wink, and dropped her voice, "it helps with the curls."

Janine didn't seem too impressed, "Alright, let's get started then."

"Sure," Nathan nodded and led the way to the living room. He sat down next to Peyton on the couch, while Janine took the loveseat opposite to them.

"Ok, so let's just talk," Janine took out her case file. "I just want to get to know you both, what are your plans, where do you see yourselves in five years?" She looked at Peyton.

"Oh, well, uh, I own a record label and in five years I hope to have signed more artists than just the three I have now," she tried to smile. "It's a difficult time for small record labels these days."

"You only have three artists signed?" Nathan whispered, hearing this for the first time.

Peyton shook her head, letting him know that now was not a good time to talk about this. She turned back to Janine, "And course Emily will be a big part of my life too."

"Sure. Thank you," Janine gave her a little nod and wrote something down in her file. "Nathan?"

"I am an agent, a sports agent, and I have my own company too, well, not my company, I have an agency, Fortitude, together with my business partner Clay Evans." Nathan knew he was rambling, but he couldn't help it.

"Okay," Janine said, "So what does a sports agent do?"

"Uh, well, I go to basketball games mostly, but sometimes other sports as well, and uh, I try to find guys who are not yet signed to any of the big teams, but who deserve to be," Nathan answered.

"Okay," Janine marked something in her file, "So, Mr. Wolff tells me you are both single and presently not engaged in a relationship."

"I'm not sure-" Nathan started.

"You're not sleeping together," Janine explained.

"Oh, no," Peyton scoffed, "Nope."

"Not a chance," Nathan shook his head, "not going to happen."

"That's great," Janine cut in, "because this situation, two single people living under the same roof, raising a recently orphaned child, well, it's complicated enough without the added complication of you know, that."

"Oh trust me, Janine," Peyton said, "that is never going to happen."

"Not in a million years," Nathan added.

"We're not in high school anymore," Peyton scoffed, "there is no way in hell-"

"Good," Janine interrupted their bickering. "Because believe me, you two are going to have the most difficult year of your lives and the only obstacle here is you two," she pointed at Nathan and Peyton, "and whether or not you're both cut out to be parents. What we want to avoid is Emily losing more people that's she close to. You know, you're friends thought you could do this, but I'll be honest, I'm not so sure."

-x-x-

"I thought you ran a successful record label," Nathan said once they had seen Janine out. "What was that all about?"

"Oh wow," Peyton scoffed, "you sure don't miss a beat, huh? Janine isn't even out of driveway yet and already we're back to the fighting? Nice one, Nathan. Really."

"Just answer the question, Peyton."

"I didn't see the point in lying to her," Peyton said, "She is going to find out eventually, anyway. Plus she probably already knows everything there is to know about us anyway."

"So why didn't you tell me?"

"Because up until a week ago, there wasn't really a problem," Peyton lowered her eyes. "When I got back to work last week, I found out two of my best-selling artists signed with another label because I wasn't around to return their phone calls when they wanted to talk to me about the offer they got. So they just went ahead and signed with freaking Capitol Records without thinking twice," she spat out the last words, still angry and upset about what had happened. "They know I don't have that kind of money. I really thought they valued quality work over big paychecks, but I guess I was wrong."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Nathan said, "but you really should have told me."

"I don't want to talk about it, Nathan." Peyton crossed her arms and leaned against the wall.

"And this is exactly why Janine thinks it won't work between us," Nathan walked past Peyton to the living room, "because we never talk about anything." He picked Emily up out of her playpen, "I'm going to put Emily to bed."

"You're one to talk." Peyton followed Nathan up the stairs to the bathroom. "You run off to the Rivercourt whenever things get tough."

"I went to the Rivercourt once, Peyton, get over it, ok? And I didn't say you never talk about anything, I said _we_ didn't I?" Nathan put Emily down on the changing table. "Why do you have to take everything so personal?"

"Because it is personal, Nathan," Peyton countered, "Don't you get it? Whether we want it or not, we will always be a part of each other's lives from now, so whatever we say or do will always be personal, because it affects both our lives."

"You're making a way too big of a deal out of this," Nathan muttered. He picked up Emily, who was now changed into her pajamas, and kissed her cheek, "Alright let's get you to bed, Em." He handed Emily to Peyton, who gave her a kiss before she handed her back. Nathan ignored Peyton as he walked out of the bathroom to Emily's room.

"So I guess we're still not talking," Peyton said from under her breath.

Nathan sat down in the rocking chair, holding Emily in his arms. He could see she had a hard time trying to keep her eyes open and smiled when she yawned, "You're tired, aren't you?" He rocked gently back and forth, speaking softly, "I just want you to know that this has nothing to do with you, Em. Sometimes Peyton and I just don't get along. Did you know Peyton and I used to date in high school?"

Emily yawned once more.

Nathan smiled, "I bet you didn't know that, huh? But we did. We went out for two years, but even then we didn't always get along. We are both very stubborn, you know, and neither of us wants to give in, neither of us wants to admit that we're wrong about something. But I want you to know that no matter how much Peyton and I fight, we will never stop loving you. We will always be here, Em."

He looked down and saw Emily was already asleep, her little hand holding on to his finger, as if she wanted to let him know that she believed what he said.

-x-x-

When he came down a couple of minutes later, Peyton was gone.


End file.
